In what could be seen as a confrontation with the judiciary, the Punjab Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution moved by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal declaring that “the Sutlej Yamuna link (SYl) canal will not be allowed to be constructed at any cost and under any circumstances.”
The resolution comes a day after the Supreme Court directed Punjab to maintain status quo on the SYl canal.
Moving the resolution, the CM declared that he “would rather make the supreme sacrifice than allow the SYl canal to be built as it deprives the people of Punjab of their legitimate rights over their river waters, in brazen defiance of the nationally and internationally accepted Riparian Principle.”
Committing his party and Government to the strongest measures needed in order to protect the interests of the people of Punjab, Badal appealed to Punjabis to prepare themselves for tough battles ahead for the purpose.
Badal minced no words while declaring that he would “protect and safeguard with all the might at his disposal the river waters of the State”.
Badal said he and the SAD-BJP Government had neither accepted in the past nor would accept now nor ever in the future any decision taken at any level to take away our vital river waters from Punjab.
The CM said there was a consensus that Punjab did not have even a single drop of water to spare for any other State. In view of that, there never had been any need nor was there one now to construct the SYl canal. “Neither is it even possible to do so. I wish to State in most unequivocal terms that we will not allow this canal to be constructed at any cost,” declared the CM.
In the neighbouring building of Haryana Assembly, Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar described the resolution passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha as gross violation of the orders of the Supreme Court and hoped that the apex court would take a serious note of it.
The CM said as the SC has now given its verdict to maintain the status quo on the issue of SYl canal, the State Government would present its viewpoint in the SC, along with resolution passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
launching a scathing attacking at SAD-BJP Government in Punjab, he said it appeared that the SYl issue is now raised by Punjab aimed at gaining mileage during ensuing assembly elections in the State.
He said the move to pass a Bill to de-notify the famers land acquired for construction of SYl canal and then defying the SC directions could also be an excuse of CM Badal to leave the Government in the midst due to fear of upcoming assembly elections so that he might contest the elections on this issue.
Manohar lal assured the House that Haryana would do everything possible to get its share of Ravi-Beas waters through SYl canal.
Also, the Haryana Congress condemned the resolution moved by CM Badal and said it is an open defiance of the SC which has ordered status quo on the SYl issue, and an open affront to the federal structure of the country.